Friday, July 25, 2008

Since Rachel Asked....

Our first show several years ago.

Blame Rachel for this post this is not about the kind of riding I usually blog about. This one is going to be about horses! Horses are really my passion. Unfortunately, they started to take over my life so that is when I decided to get another hobby that was really just a hobby and not let it consume me, which is why I started riding bikes. I wanted something I could do when I wanted to and feel no pressure to do it unless it was something I really felt like doing that day. Horses don't really work that way. If you don't go see them, they have a way of making you feel extremely guilty.

Anyways, I ride Dressage on a black Arabian horse names Czecher. Czecher thinks he is a Labrador and has tried to climb in my car before. He is truly the perfect male. He knickers when I whistle for him and comes running. When he ticks me off, I can lock him up and not see him until both of us have cooled off. When I find these qualities in a human male, it is possible I will consider keeping him too.

Currently Czecher and I are riding at 2nd and 3rd level and compete when we can afford it. Mostly right now, we do local shows. Which unfortunately I have to organize since I am president of our local Dressage club (see what I mean about this stuff taking over and not really being a hobby any more??). It really is a lot of fun, but a lot of work too. Luckily even though we have a small group here, we are all pretty active and there is a lot of enthusiasm.

This last weekend we put on a show that was really was more like a clinic. Everyone got a chance to ride their dressage test and then the judge coached them on what they could do better and then you got to ride your test again. It was just a cool training exercise so that way you could correct what you were doing wrong and then got a second chance! Wouldn't that be cool if you could do that in races? "I am sorry, that was a really bad swim, I am just going to fix that and come back and do it for real".

Anyways, that is a lowdown on this horse stuff I do. It is a lot of fun, but keeps me busy! I hope to get in some good bike rides this weekend so I can have something to blog about!

Memorable

"I rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a bike. It gives her a feeling of self-reliance and independence the moment she takes her seat; and away she goes, the picture of untrammeled womanhood." - Susan B. Anthony 1896